U.S. shoppers spend $9.86B during October Prime deal event

what happened

Seeking Alpha, citing Adobe, reported that U.S. online shoppers spent $9.86B during Amazon Prime Big Deal Days on October 6–7. The result was 8.5% above last year’s $9.09B, while that earlier event had grown 7.3% from the preceding year. Total spending came in slightly below the pre-event estimate of $9.9B.

The figures cover every U.S. retailer running a sales event, rather than Amazon alone. Adobe based them on direct online transactions across more than 1T visits to retail websites, 100M products and 18 categories. Discounts accounted for most of the demand, with the deepest reductions reaching roughly 20% off listed prices. Adobe said shoppers focused on securing the best value for their money.

Deals on computers, televisions, electronics, toys and clothing encouraged customers to select higher-priced merchandise. Across categories, the spending share allocated to the most expensive goods was 21% above the year-to-date average. Versus average daily September sales, toys climbed 158%, video games 90%, electronics 85% and personal care 73%. Year over year, household cleaning and paper goods gained 55%, personal hygiene products 45%, pet food 45% and basic apparel 25%. More than a third of shoppers said they had completed at least half of their holiday buying during the event, while planned Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping declined from last year.

why it matters

The results suggest that major discount events are shifting both the timing and composition of U.S. holiday consumption. Because Adobe’s data include retailers beyond Amazon, they also provide a broader read on seasonal demand across online commerce.

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